Iraq: Asiacell denies Govt claims to have been consulted on the new Telecommunications Law

[MENAFN] In a televised broadcast on Alhurra satellite channel, Dr. Hiyam Al-Yassiri, Advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Communications, stated that the Ministry consulted with the private sector whilst drafting the Telecommunications Law over two years ago. This statement was made during Alhurra's weekly program, "In Iraqi". However, Asiacell strongly denied any truths to this statement, indicating that it was never consulted on any drafts for the law and that the current draft is absent of any comments from the Iraqi mobile telecommunications companies. During the program, Dr. Al-Yassiri went on to say that the private sector played an active role in the drafting of the law, referring to an alleged meeting with the technical manager of one of the operators who was operating at the time.

Furthermore, the Minister of Communications' Advisor also made another statement on the Al Somaryeh satellite channel in response to citizens' complaints on the high monthly bills they received from the Iraqi Telecommunication and Post Company (ITPC), indicating that the high costs incurred on calls from fixed lines to mobiles are attributed to the high prices placed by mobile telecommunications companies. This statement raised several questions made by various telecom operators who have not yet received any payments from the ITPC and have not even signed any agreements to that effect. On the contrary, operators have continuously stated that calls made from fixed lines to mobile lines should be a service to the benefit of the general public, and that it is their duty to all Iraqi citizens not to receive any additional payments from the ITPC.

Asiacell was extremely confused by these allegations particularly in light of the fact that they were made by a senior government official. The company questioned the reasons behind the misleading allegations which could be interpreted as an intentional attempt to conceal the real reason behind the problems currently hindering the Iraqi mobile telecommunications companies' transmissions; the current use of Jammer devices by both government and privately owned companies. The company has on a number of occasions requested to find a solution to this problem in an objective framework instead of placing false allegations that are misleading to the general Iraqi public.

Within this context and during a recent televised broadcast on Alhurra satellite channel, both CEOs of Asiacell and Zain Iraq discussed the issues surrounding the signal blocking Jammer devices. It was highlighted that the use of these devices is becoming increasingly widespread in Iraq despite the fact that such devices are prohibited in most of the Middle East and the rest of the world because of their negative effect on various communication tools.

In the absence of regulations on the use of these devices in Iraq and in light of the lack of proper governmental control to limit their use, Asiacell expressed its readiness to cooperate with the Ministry of Communications on finding a permanent solution to this problem instead of having officials such as Dr. Hiyam Al-Yassiri resort to making various false allegations which blame telecommunications companies instead of working constructively to serve the new Iraq.

In his response statement, Dr. Diar Ahmed, CEO of Asiacell, said: "Moving forward towards developing the telecommunications sector must involve public-private sector cooperation; the ideal venue for this cooperation would be an Iraqi Telecom Conference that involves all stakeholders to engage in a constructive dialogue on the problems and solutions of the existing situation. One of the most important factors that should be discussed is prohibiting companies from investing in the infrastructure through the installment of fiber optic networks which take away the Iraqi citizens' right to clear and undisrupted phone calls." Dr. Ahmed also requested that the conference be held on Iraqi soil and not outside of Iraq as was the case in previous years.

These statements are made during a time where the Iraqi Government is currently exerting efforts towards attracting foreign investment to the country in order to increase GDP growth rates. However, the problems facing many large companies in Iraq may send the wrong message to foreign investors about the Iraqi private sector and the level of cooperation between the government and private sector in a country that still operates under inadequate government procedures.

Asiacell breaks its silence and responds to the Iraqi Minister of Communications' Advisor Hiyam Al- Yassiri "We were not consulted on a Draft Telecommunications Law and we did not play a hand in increasing the cost of fixed-to-mobile calls"